Really Okay
by Marymel
Summary: Nick sees a familiar face at a conference...and thinks about his godson.


**Another story idea came to me that I had to write. I tried to like Riley, and I did like her friendship with Greg. But I find I didn't like her as much as I did many other characters on the show. So I wondered...what might happen if Nick saw her again? I thought it might be a good story...Riley tells him how she's coping, and Nick gets a few things off his chest. Anyway, enough rambling. Please read and review!**

**Oh, and I just own Jackson. I don't own CSI.**

There was a chill in the air as Nick Stokes tugged his jacket closer. The winds of Chicago made him miss the desert of Vegas, but he enjoyed the conference he had to attend and looked forward to going home the following day. He walked into a deli to order something for dinner and go back to his hotel room. He'd just placed his order when he saw a familiar face with some others at a table.

The woman turned and stared at Nick in surprise. After a few moments, she said, "Nick?"

Nick couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the woman at the table. Riley Adams, who worked with him and the team in Vegas four years before - and was the mother of his godson, Jackson Sanders - was staring back at him. After a couple of seconds, he said, "Riley?"

Riley laughed nervously and stood to greet her former colleague. "Yeah, hi. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, um...American Academy of Forensics Conference," Nick said. "I just finished up today."

"Oh, yeah," Riley said with a nod. "I went to a lecture earlier this week."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them. Riley was surprised to see her former colleague. Even if she did have problems with the team, she did get along great with Greg and Nick.

Nick sensed Riley was uncomfortable. "So...you're still with the Chicago Crime Lab?" He couldn't think of anything else to say.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, I have been for almost five years now. After the, um..." She looked away.

Nick nodded. "Greg mentioned you were suspended."

Nodding, Riley said, "Yeah, I was. It was ruled an acceptable shooting, but I still had to go to anger management classes and take some time off."

Seeing the woman he knew as headstrong and stubborn stand before him uncomfortable and quiet gave Nick the sense that she really was sorry for what had happened. He had to wonder if that was all she regretted.

"Well," he began, "Things in Vegas are good. You met D.B. Russell when you were there about a year ago?"

"Just in passing," Riley said.

"Anyway, he's still the head of grave. Henry's in DNA now, and Catherine's with the FBI."

Riley's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah, she and the team worked with the feds on a case about a year ago. And they offered her a job."

"Wow," Riley said with a sigh. "That's great."

Nick cleared his throat. "I read the exit interview." Riley looked at him and nodded before looking down. "It was really unfair."

Riley shook her head. "I know, and I am sorry. I was mad, and felt like I wasn't valued..."

"You were!" Nick insisted.

"I-I know, and I'm sorry."

Nick looked at the woman he worked with years ago, wondering if that was the only thing she was sorry for.

At that moment, Nick's cell rang. He smiled when he saw a text from Greg.

Riley noticed Nick's smile. "Everything okay."

Nick sighed and cleared his throat. "I asked a friend to check on my dog while I'm here." Nick looked at the woman and couldn't hide his bitterness any longer. "Greg's fine, in case you're wondering."

Riley nodded. "That's who texted you?"

Nick nodded. "He's doing great...and so's Jackson."

With a nod and a heavy sigh, Riley said, "That's good."

Nick narrowed his eyes in confusion. "That's good?"

Looking at her former colleague and friend, Riley nodded. "I know you're not going to believe this, but I do love Jackson. I had drawn up the papers to give Greg full custody two months before I went to Vegas. I knew I was finally doing the right thing for my son."

Nick stared, knowing Riley had left Jackson with babysitters more than she cared for him herself and never really bonded with her own son.

"Look," Riley continued. "I know this is going to sound bad, but I don't miss him."

Nick said nothing, but waited for her to continue, wondering if she really cared about her child.

"I know I did the right thing for Jackson. The moment he and Greg met, they knew they belonged together and would be okay." She smiled softly, thinking about how Greg and Jackson bonded the moment they met. "I should have told Greg about Jackson from the start, and I hope someday both of them can forgive me. But I don't regret giving Jackson to his father, and I know they're both okay."

Seeing Riley heartbroken made Nick realize she did love her son and really knew she did the right thing and Jackson was better off with Greg. Clearing his throat, Nick said, "Greg's not the only one watching my dog."

Riley looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow.

Nick gave a lopsided smile. "Ever since he met Sam - that's my dog - Jackson's loved him. So when I told him I was going out of town, he asked if Sam could stay at his house."

Riley laughed softly. "He likes animals?"

"Yeah, he loves coming over to my house and playing fetch with Sam...or going to Doc Robbins' and playing with their cat...or playing with Sara's dog, Hank."

"Who?" Riley asked.

"Oh, Grissom's wife...uh, ex-wife."

Riley pursed her lips together and nodded. "Sorry to hear that."

Nick waited a few moments before continuing. "Jackson's really growing up. He's reading, and in preschool...and he's friendly and kind and smart..."

Riley held up her hand. "I-I know. He's a beautiful child. Maybe...maybe someday he can forgive me for screwing up."

Nick sighed. As angry as he was at Riley for not telling Greg about his son and not bonding with him, she was still Jackson's mother and his former friend. "You did something right. Jackson is an amazing kid. And you were right to tell him that his father loves him and giving him to Greg."

"I know," Riley said honestly. "I know Greg and Jackson are together, where hey belong...where they should have been all along."

"Riley...Jackson still loves you. And Greg...he's forgiven you." She looked at him with wide eyes. "As much as it hurts to know you kept Jackson from him, you're still Jackson's mother...and you gave him to his father and they _are happy_."

A tear fell down Riley's cheek as she tried to hide her quivering lip with a smile. "You mean that?"

"Yes," Nick answered with certainty. "And there's always going to be a place in Jackson's heart for you."

Riley took a deep breath and sniffed away her tears. She did miss her son, and hearing Nick's words made her realize she had done the right thing and Jackson and Greg really were okay.

Nick heard his order number called and he walked up to the counter to pay for his food. Riley walked up behind him.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I-I know I wasn't much of a mother to him, but I still love him."

Nick looked at Riley with a mixture of sympathy and relief. "It's true. Jackson and Greg are fine, and you did the right thing for him." He smiled when he thought about his godson. "You know, a few months ago, he asked me about you. I told him that every time you think of him, you send him a big hug."

Riley laughed softly. "I send him tons of them. I know I did some things wrong...but giving Jackson to Greg was right."

Nick nodded. "It was. And he is okay."

Patting her former colleague's arm, Riley said, "Thank you."

A man came up behind Riley and looked concerned. She smiled and wiped her cheek when she saw him.

"Nick, this is my boyfriend, Jake Fowler. This is Nick Stokes. I used to work with him in Vegas."

"Hi," Nick said extending his hand.

"Hi," Jake said, shaking Nick's hand. "She told me about working for the Vegas Crime Lab."

Nick smiled softly. "Yeah, she's a good CSI. I've gotta go, but it was good to meet you."

Jake nodded. Riley smiled softly. "Good to see you again Nick," Riley said.

"You, too."

* * *

The next day, Greg and Jackson were at Nick's house playing with Sam in the backyard. Nick couldn't keep the smile off his face as he watched his best friend and son with his dog.

Sam brought a tennis ball back to Nick, and the three enjoyed playing with the happy dog.

"Uncle Nicky, Sam missed you," Jackson told him.

"Aw, I missed him."

Greg sighed as he watched Jackson. "Did you see..." he asked softly.

Nick nodded. "She said she knows that you and Jackson are where you belong. She seemed...at peace, I guess...knowing that she did the right thing for him."

Greg smiled and watched his son, happily unaware of Nick's trip to his hometown.

"She's got a boyfriend," Nick added. "She said she hopes you and Jackson can forgive her someday."

Watching his son laugh and play, Greg knew Jackson was where he belonged. He also knew he couldn't stay mad at Riley. "I forgive her. As much as it hurts knowing that I wasn't there from the beginning...my son is with me now. And I never knew I could love someone so much."

Nick smiled, knowing Greg and Jackson loved each other very much.

Jackson and Sam ran up to them. "Daddy, Sam say he needs a sammich!"

Greg laughed softly. "Oh, he does, huh?" He lifted his laughing son into his arms.

"Yeah!" Jackson said. Looking at Nick, Jackson said, "Sam missed you. He looked all around da house, an' I told him you come back...an' you did!"

"Yeah, I did," Nick said with a smile. Looking at Jackson in Greg's arms, both of them happy, Nick knew they all were really okay.

Jackson smiled at his uncle. "I told Sam not to worry, 'cause you were gunna come back. An' you came back!"

Greg kissed his smiling son's cheek. "Just like he said, right?"

"Right!" Nick and Jackson answered.

Petting his dog's head, Nick smiled at his best friend and godson. He and Greg knew Jackson was where he belonged, and they all were really okay.

**The End.**


End file.
